BY JESSICA PARKS
The city is wasting precious
parking spaces and creating
hazardous street conditions
by locating three bus
stops on three different corners
of the same Manhattan
Beach intersection, according
to a Brooklyn civic guru,
who proposed consolidating
the cluttered stops on Jan. 30.
“It occurred to me that
NYC Transit could remove
the southbound B49 bus stop
and eastbound B1 bus stop,”
said Craig Hammerman, “and
replace them with a consolidated
bus stop at the southeast
corner of the intersection.”
Four bus lines currently
run through the intersection
of West End Avenue and Oriental
Boulevard — with a B1
bus stop on the southwest corner,
a northbound B49 stop on
the northeast corner, and a
combined westbound B1 and
northbound B49 bus stop on
the southeast corner.
But, as noted by Hammerman
— a former Park Slope
District Manager, who recently
BROOKLYN METRO CHAMBER ORCHESTRA PERFORMING
MOZART, BEETHOVEN and WAGNER
COURIER L 18 IFE, FEBRUARY 7-13, 2020
moved to southern
Brooklyn — the B1 and B49
both drive right past the only
vacant corner at the intersection.
If the city’s architects
were to get rid of two existing
stops, and instead place one
combined stop on the northwest
corner, they would free
up valuable parking and reduce
the chaotic traffi c along
the neighborhood’s main
thoroughfare, said Hammerman.
“The consolidation of these
two bus stops into one would
result in the restoration of
approximately four on-street
parking spaces for the community,”
he said. “Seems like
a win-win scenario.”
But Community Board 15
Chairwoman Theresa Scavo
didn’t express as much enthusiasm
for the idea, saying
Craig Hammerman points to the B49 bus stop that he would like to see combined with the B1 bus stop in the
other side of Oriental Boulevard. Photo by Derrick Watterson
that the status quo keeps the
current stops on the busier
side of the street — whereas
changing it would force more
people to cross Oriental Boulevard.
“I think it’s going to pose a
lot of problems for elderly people
who will have to cross the
street to get to the bus stop,”
Scavo said.
But Hammerman — who
brings decades of experience
as an urban planning guru as
the longtime head of northern
Brooklyn’s Community Board
6 — countered, arguing that
grouping bus stops together
has a positive impact on street
safety.
“Having fewer bus stops
at the intersection should reduce
the number of pedestrian
crossings and the amount of
potential pedestrian-vehicular
confl icts,” said Hammerman.
“That should make the
intersection function more effi
ciently and safer for everyone.
The primary goal is to
improve safety.”
Hammerman submitted
his proposal on Tuesday to
the community board, which
will review it and pass its recommendation
on to the city’s
Department of Transportation.
Make it stop!
City wasting parking space with poor
bus stop design: Civic guru
By Camille Sperrazza
If you think you may not enjoy listening
to classical music, perhaps it’s simply
because you haven’t really experienced it.
Take advantage of the opportunity
to do so.
The Brooklyn Metro Chamber
Orchestra (previously called Metro
Chamber Orchestra) will perform Mozart,
Beethoven, and Wagner on Sunday, Feb.
9, at 4 pm, at the sanctuary of St. Ann
and the Holy Trinity, 157 Montague St.
in Brooklyn Heights.
Tickets can be purchased online at the
website, www.brooklynmco.org, or in
person on the day of the concert. They
range in price from $25-$40. Children
5-12 years old are free.
Melody English, General Director of
the Chamber, says, “You don’t know
until you come and experience a
concert, and hear the music ringing
for a walk in the woods or reading
a book. “We want to provide that
The mission is to develop and sustain
an orchestra of the highest artistic
standards in Brooklyn, and to enrich
and inspire through music, community
!
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in Brooklyn.
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variety of audience members. Allowing
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of reaching that goal. The Brooklyn
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to provide top-notch classical music to
all at reasonable prices.
English says she thinks more people
would come to concerts, “if there wasn’t
/3
case. “Our casual Sunday concerts are
open to everyone, as we see ourselves
6 33
%
The program opens with Mozart’s
Symphony No. 25 in g minor. A young
American virtuoso, Maryam Raya, will
join the Chamber for Mozart’s Piano
Concerto No 25 in c minor. Having
recently made her Carnegie Hall debut,
Ms. Raya’s dazzling technique will be
on full display.
Also joining Maestro Phil Nuzzo,
8:;
Brooklyn Metro Chamber Orchestra, is
8
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She will perform in Beethoven’s concert
8=>/<
Chamber will conclude the program with
the iconic, Prelude and Liebestod from
Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.
The Brooklyn Metro Chamber
Orchestra is comprised of freelance
musicians, who work under the guidance
of Nuzzo. Many are veterans of the New
York Philharmonic and The Metropolitan
Opera Orchestra.
Nuzzo has performed throughout the
Far East, Europe, and the United States.
He has appeared with major symphonies
in Vienna, Austria, and the Ukraine, to
name a few.
Brooklyn audiences usually respond
“We have been an active part of
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“With so many small orchestras going
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Brooklyn Metro Chamber Orchestra
www.Brooklynmco.org, (208) 863-
9043, BrooklynMCO@gmail.com
link
/www.Brooklynmco.org
/www.brooklynmco.org
/www.brooklynmco.org
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